THIS WEBSITE is dedicated to those Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airpersons who refuse to fight in illegal wars or to commit war crimes. These young men and women face persecution because they are following their consciences and obeying international law. They need and deserve our support, and we need them. When even more soldiers say no, the wars will be over.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

On November 9, 1969, the New York Times published an open appeal by 1,365 active-duty service members calling for an end to the Vietnam War and for no punishment for participating in the historic Vietnam Moratorium march. The petition of these soldiers, representing 80 bases and ships throughout the world, had a huge impact and helped establish the (limited) civil liberties and rights GIs have today. The members of the GI Movement risked their careers and personal security by signing this petition and participating in subsequent actions.

One of those signers was David Cortright, who went on to write Soldiers In Revolt, the definitive 1975 chronicle of the GI Movement. He was part of an activist group of GIs at Fort Hamilton, New York. Thirty-five of the 60 personnel in his company signed the petition and several traveled to Washington, D.C. for the historic march.

I contacted David to arrange for a community meeting with some of my civilian and active-duty colleagues in June 2006 in Norfolk, Virginia. Its success led us to ponder whether something similar could be organized around the Iraq War. We wanted to build a movement where service members could express their dissent in a legal, constructive way. I began researching the rights and responsibilities of active-duty service members. The most comprehensive source I found was the website for the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), which was very helpful in determining the limits for GIs in petitioning their government for redress of grievances.

I also found an old leaflet from the Military Project, an organization based out of New York, which seeks to educate active-duty service members about their civil liberties and constitutional rights. The leaflet had several DOD directives that listed limited rights to express dissent:

DOD Directive 7050.6Military Whistle-blower Protection Act

This Act is the foundation for the Appeal For Redress, our organization. It establishes that every soldier can communicate individually with a member of Congress and Inspector General (IG) without reprisal. Punishment constitutes a violation of Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Failure to Obey Order or Regulation. Once a reprisal is initiated, the soldier can file a complaint with an IG and seek redress from his Commanding Officer (CO). If the CO fails to provide it, the military member has the right to file an Article 138 complaint against the CO seeking redress and restoration to the member of any rights, privileges, property or status to which the member would have been entitled had the wrong not occurred.

Guidelines for Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces

This directive explained how to conduct the redress campaign.

Distributing newspapers and/or publications: Soldiers can distribute newspapers, even ones critical of government at official outlets on base such as post exchanges and military libraries.

Publication of Underground Newspapers: A member of the military may write for an underground publication if it is done off duty and on nonmilitary equipment. Articles in the publication may not contain slanderous language that is punishable under federal law.

Participation in political demonstrations: Soldiers can participate in political demonstrations while off base, off duty, in the United States, out of uniform and not acting on behalf of the military. Military members cannot attend demonstrations where violence is likely to occur.

DOD directive 1344.10Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty

Military members:

• may express their personal views on political and social issues.

• may make monetary contributions to a political organization.

• may attend political meetings, rallies, or conventions when not in uniform.

• may write a letter to a newspaper editor expressing personal views on public issues.

• are prohibited from making a contribution to and soliciting or receiving a contribution from another member of the armed forces or a civilian officer or employee of the United States to promote a political cause, including a political campaign.

• are prohibited from using contemptuous words against officeholders and government officials.

DOD Directive 1354.01DOD Policy on Organizations That Seek to Represent or Organize Members of the Armed Forces in Negotiation or Collective Bargaining

Military members may:

• join or maintain membership in any lawful organization or association not constituting a "military labor organization."

• present grievances concerning the terms or conditions of the service of such member in accordance with established military procedures.

• petition the Congress for redress of grievances.

The Strom Thurmond Anti-Union Law

In 1976 the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) was considering a union drive in the military. The drive was based on the recent GI Movement and the American Service Members Union (ASU), the first attempt to organize a service members union within the United States. At its height in 1970 the ASU had 15,000 members. Although it had all but disappeared by 1973, with GI activists being discharged and transferred in the thousands, the ASU was a bold example of the political potential of lower-ranking GIs (it was solely for lower-level troops).

Strom Thurmond led the charge to outlaw unionization and organizing within the military when he introduced S. 3079 during the 94th Congress. Before the bill was signed, the military made it law in October of 1977 through the establishment of DOD Directive 1354.1, prohibiting all forms of "collective job-related action" within the ranks and banning union solicitation on base. The directive prohibits soldiers from joining, maintaining or soliciting membership in a labor organization and from striking.

The Appeal for Redress, however, has shown that active-duty troops can express themselves legally to the government and civil society at large. Using the limited rights we have under the Military Whistle-blower Protection Act and DoD regulations, we mobilized more than 2,000 U.S military members in 10 countries to send appeals to their congressional members to end the Iraq War.

But there are limitations to our work.Commanders do not legally have to recognize active-duty organizations.

Many soldiers are unaware of their political options.

Most fear potential reprisals for speaking out.

Not breaking any laws does not prevent retaliation by the brass.

Only the fear of mass action by enlisted men and women can prevent retaliation.

The Appeal for Redress is a model for a successful GI movement for the 21st century. Human Rights training in boot camp and the support of the veteran/civilian community are key to success.

Human rights training in boot camp. Boot camp is where service members must receive a firm grounding on all of their rights and responsibilities. They must be educated about their rights under Article 138 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and their right to seek out an IG to correct misconduct by the chain of command and to appeal to higher authority if the wrong has not been addressed. These complaints are sent to the General Court-Martial Convening Authority, comprised of general and/or flag officers. Unlike Equal Opportunity advisors, IGs are independent of the command structure, DoD civilians mandated by federal law to investigate and report to commanders on mission performance, discipline, efficiency and the morale of the armed forces. They do not have the authority to correct the wrong, but their findings carry weight with commanders.Veteran and civilian support is imperative. The appeal's success was largely due to the support of major veteran peace organizations, which formed a task force that supported the troops in terms of supplies, contacts, legal support and overall coordination. Civilian activists and community organizers were also instrumental. The Military Project, a civilian organization in New York City, provided key support in their publications. It is my hope that with the support of these peace activists, the appeal will develop into a permanent active-duty support network.

James Clancy calls on minority Conservative government to respect the will of Parliament and stop the deportation of Corey Glass

Ottawa (9 June 2008) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is asking the Harper government to honour a House of Commons motion that clears U.S. Iraq war resisters and their families to live permanently in Canada.

The non-binding parliamentary motion was approved June 3 with support from all three opposition parties by a margin of 137 to 110. Conservative MPs opposed the motion and the minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has indicated it will ignore parliament on the issue.

The War Resisters Support Campaign, based in Toronto, estimates that as many as 200 American soldiers have come to Canada to avoid serving in Iraq. Many of those active in the campaign are resisters who were granted refuge in Canada during the Vietnam war in the 1960s and 1970s.In a letter to Harper, NUPGE president James Clancy urged Harper to intervene in the case of Corey Glass, who has been in Canada for the past two years. His application for citizenship on "humanitarian and compassionate" grounds was denied on May 21 and the Canadian Border Services Agency has ordered him to be deported on June 12.

"From all indications, your government is planning to ignore the democratic will of the House of Commons," Clancy wrote. "I am urging you and your government to reconsider this position. This is a matter of some urgency. The war resisters have taken a principled stand against participating in an illegal and disastrous war in Iraq. Their reasons echo those that Canada used when it, too, refused to participate in this war," Clancy said.

"Canada must continue to act to honour its own principles and maintain our status in the world community as a peace-building nation. We should quickly welcome the young men and women and their families who have come here to live in peace and who are already starting to contribute to our country's future," he said. Clancy urged Harper to "act now to make it possible" for the resisters to stay in Canada by:

● Stopping the deportation of people of conscience who have resisted an illegal war; and

● Supporting the democratic decision of the House of Commons and the will of the Canadian people.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Today, the Canadian Parliament made a historic vote in favor of U.S. war resisters who are seeking a safe haven in Canada rather than fight in the illegal occupation of Iraq. The vote in the House of Commons was 137-110, with all the opposition parties - the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party, the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party - voting for the motion, and the ruling Conservative Party voting against.

The Parliament called on the minority Conservative government to create a program that will allow war resisters to immigrate to Canada, and it also called for a halt to all deportation proceedings.

This is a VERY BIG victory for war resisters in Canada and everywhere. It will strengthen our hand considerably.

But the struggle for sanctuary in Canada is far from over. The Conservative government, a staunch ally of the Bush administration, may choose to defy the will of the Canadian people by ignoring this advisory motion.

Corey Glass, an Iraq veteran and war resister, was recently ordered to leave Canada by June 12 or face deportation.

So even as we celebrate this victory, we must step up the pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Immigration Minister Diane Finley. [See action alert from War Resisters Support Campaign, below, along with their press release and a news article.]

Yes, it does help for the Canadian government to hear from many people in the U.S. who want them to provide sanctuary for our war resisters. Courage To Resist (www.couragetoresist.org) has generated thousands of letters from people in the U.S. to Canadian government and political leaders and these have clearly helped, as have the vigils and delegations to the Canadian Embassy in Washington and Canadian Consulates around the U.S.

Project Safe Haven, a network of Vietnam War resisters who are supporting war resisters today, is calling for people to contact Canadian representatives in the U.S. this week.

* THANK the Canadian people and their Parliament for supporting our war resisters.

* CALL on the Conservative government to follow the will of the Canadian people and implement this motion.

* DEMAND an end to deportation proceedings against Corey Glass and other war resisters.

You can visit the Canadian Consulate in person.

In Seattle, we will have a Celebration outside of the Canadian Consulate, 1501 4th Ave. at Pike St., on Thursday, June 5, at noon. There will also be vigils and delegations in several other cities.

If you want to participate in visits to the Canadian Embassy or Consulates, please send an email to projectsafehaven@hotmail.com or call Gerry Condon at 206-499-1220.

If you are a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War or Veterans For Peace, you may want to get in touch with your local chapter or national office to let them know you want to participate, and to help organize these events.

U.S. war resisters and their wonderful Canadian supporters have won a historic victory. By acting decisively at this time, we in the U.S. can participate in this victory and help to make it an even bigger one.

__________________________________________________________________________________ [The following Action Alert is from the War Resisters Support Campaign in Canada, www.resisters.ca]

Canadian Parliament votes to let US war resisters stay

The Canadian Parliament passed an historic motion today, June 3, 2008, that calls on the Canadian government to make a program to allow US war resisters to apply for permanent resident status in Canada and to cease all deportation and removal proceedings against US war resisters.

The next step is to write to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley, and prime minister Stephen Harper to ensure that they that the will of Parliament is implemented.

GI Rights Hotline, 1-877-447-4487

Are you or a member of your family trying to get out of the military? Have you already taken an unauthorized absence (AWOL/UA)? Are you facing racism or sexual harrassment within the military? If you want to know your rights and your options, call the toll free GI Rights Hotline, staffed by a network of volunteers from nonprofit, nongovernmental military counseling agencies. And check out their website at http://girightshotline.org/

How to go AWOL in Canada

Donate to Project Safe Haven

Project Safe Haven has been working directly with U.S. war resisters, in Canada and the U.S. for over seven years. Your tax-deductible donation will allow us to continue this vital work. To make a secure credit card donation online, just click on the link below, which will take you to our fiscal sponsor, the Alliance For Global Justice.http://www.nicanet.org/?page_id=341Under "Credit Card Payments" on the left, check "Other," and type in "Project Safe Haven."Checks and money orders can be made out to "AFGJ" and mailed to Gerry Condon, P.O. Box 250, Vina, CA 96092. Make sure you write "Project Safe Haven" in the memo line on the check. Or to inquire about making a donation, you can call 206-499-1220.